Cashew Coconut Oat Milk (Our Oil-Free Take on Oatly Barista Milk!)

Have you ever ordered an oat milk latte (or matcha) at a cafe, and wondered, “Why can’t I ever make it this good at home?”

Yes? Then this recipe is for you.

What is Oat Milk?

Oat milk is rolled oats and water blended together then strained to leave the pulp behind. The result is creamy oat milk perfect for adding to cereal, granola, baked goods, and more.

How is this recipe different?

This recipe is specifically designed to mimic the texture of Oatly’s Barista milk, which froths and heats beautifully, whereas plain oat milk is less creamy, can often get slimy when heated, and tends not to froth well. Talk about a sad latte situation.

What makes Oatly Barista Milk so Creamy?

This brings me to my next point. Oatly’s Barista blend is creamy and froths well largely because it contains a considerable amount of fat in the form of rapeseed oil.

We aren’t oil-free by any means, but would prefer not to drink oil, especially in such great quantities on a regular basis. (Anybody else have a daily matcha / latte habit?)

So, we went to the drawing board to come up with an oat milk that was creamy, rich, and — most importantly — heated and frothed beautifully. Sad lattes begone.

Spoiler alert: We cracked the code.

What makes this oat milk creamy and frothy?

The secret to this quick, 5-ingredient recipe is a blend of ingredients as opposed to pure oat milk. And what a delicious blend it is.

Cashews create a creamy, rich base, which complements the flavor of oats perfectly, while coconut flakes round out the creamy texture while also adding a bit of natural sweetness. This unique blend of oats, cashews, and coconut creates my ultimate, dreamy dairy-free milk!

The best part? It’s oil-free, easy to make, and heats and froths beautifully, making it the perfect latte companion. Whoop!

Ingredients

1/2cupunsweetened coconut flakes (we like the large flakes, but small is okay, too)

1/4cuprolled oats (not steel cut, gluten-free certified as needed)

1medjooldate, pitted (or sub maple syrup or stevia to taste)

1pinchsea salt

3cupsfiltered water (or highest quality water possible)

Instructions

Soak cashews (uncovered) in very hot water for 30 minutes, or in cool water for 6 hours or overnight (be sure not to soak longer than 8 hours or the cashews can get too soft).

Drain and rinse cashews, then add to a high-speed blender with coconut flakes, rolled oats, date, salt, and filtered water. For this recipe (as written) we recommend starting with 3 cups (720 ml) water for a richer, creamier milk. If you prefer slightly thinner milk, add up to 4 cups (960 ml) total.

Top blender with lid, cover with a towel to ensure it doesn't spill over, and blend on high for 60 seconds.

Place a nut milk bag (or thin, clean dish towel or t-shirt) over a large mixing bowl and pour the milk over it. Then strain, squeezing really well until mostly pulp is left — this may take a few minutes.

At this point the milk is ready to enjoy as is, or it can be refrigerated up to 4-5 days (sometimes — you'll know if it's still fresh by the smell).

This blend is perfect for frothing / heating, or used cold as a thick milk or "creamer" for hot or iced coffee or matcha! We haven't tested freezing it, but suspect it would work, though it’s always best when fresh.

Notes

*Recipe as written makes ~3 ½ cups milk/creamer. *Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with full amount of ingredients included. Actual nutrition per serving will have slightly fewer calories, fat, carbohydrates, etc. due to straining through nut milk bag.

I will definitely try this! I am focused on going zero waste and my biggest issue has been oat milk. I have made my own several times but I always find it doesn’t taste anything like my oat dream (that I’m really fussy about) and I can’t eat/drink it. So this recipe looks like it could be the ticket and all of the ingredients are available at the zero waste store!

Depending on the juicer, yes it’s totally possible (follow the instruction manual). Just be sure to run the final product through a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag to catch any sediment. But in my opinion it’s much easier to make in a blender (which is faster to assemble, use, and clean).

Just had my first coffee, very impressed but I can’t deal with cup measurements 😩
800ml of water, 100g cashews, 35g of coconut and 20g rolled oats is this about right? I think UK cup sizes are slightly different to US sizes so would like to get measurements as near as possible as I don’t think I got the perfect outcome I could have as nice as it was. Thank you

Could this be made using a juicer instead of blending it? I’ve made nut milks before in my juicer by soaking the nuts (almonds) and then pouring them with the water through my juicer, I wonder if this could work the same?

I am so excited to have this recipe. Oatly is always sold out where I live. When I made this and added o my french press coffee it still had that slightly sour taste which accompanies standard almond or coconut milks in coffee. Any ideas? Thanks Dana!

That’s odd! I’m not sure. I’d first check the freshness of your ingredients to ensure nothing is off. And also use filtered water to ensure the taste isn’t affected there. Otherwise, including the date should add sweetness that will offset any lingering acidity.

This was so good! I realized (only after starting the process) that I ran out of rolled oats 😱 so I just upped the cashews to 1 cup instead. I also used maple syrup instead of dates (as suggested) since that’s what I had on hand. It turned out great! Thanks so much for this great alternative ❤️

The milk is delicious and creamy! I omitted the date since I prefer unsweetened, and added a teaspoon of powdered sunflower lecithin (probably didn’t need it) to avoid separation. I am enjoying it now with a cup of cold brew. Thank you minimalist baker!!!

I have been following you for a few years now and I love your blog and Instagram and recipes.
I am wondering if you have an opinion or have done a review on the best small blender ( ninja , nutribullet etc.) I have a vitamix but am considering also getting a smaller one for making lattes
Any recommendations?
Thank you!

I used my pantry steel cut oats and put it trogh this mesh piece on my food processor then a sieve to get a vey smooth liquid…tried it neat and cold, found it slightly sweet but definitely not slimy or chalky so thats definitely a big thumbs up. Final test, I added some to my neglected and somewhat stewed tea that i had forgotten (whilst making this recipe) and it was absolutely fine. Good to break free of all those tetra packs👌

Hello Dana, I am subscribed to your newsletter cause I just love your recipes, but with this one you just made my life!! :) I am in love with the Oatly milk and now I have healthiest solution. Thank you for that. Hugs!

Just made the milk and taste tested with barrista, found it a little too sweet so will try sgain without the dates and maybe less coconut. In my barley cup this evening its really good. Thanks for this as i’ve been trying for a while to make a nice oatmilk.

This recipe came at the perfect time. I’m tired of driving to a specific store to purchase Oatly. It was quick to make, and is super delicious! Thank you so much for solving a serious problem for me! <3

This is a great recipe! Followed the recipe as written and I got creamy, smooth, non-slimy milk! Made myself a pumpkin spice latte with it this morning and was thrilled at how it turned out. Thanks MB for another great recipe! :)

Wow. I made this exactly as is, and it is absolutely delicious. It mixed perfectly well with my coffee and gave it the perfect amount of sweetness. I love that I will no longer have to drop $6 for a carton of Oatly anymore!! Thank you for yet another slam dunk recipe, Dana!

I made this recipe without the dates. Well done Minimalist Baker. I wanted it for tea and it did not curdle. It is still a little sweet in tea for my taste but I can sense it will be sensational in coffee but I only have one coffee each day so tomorrow to try it. I wonder how I could make this milk less sweet.

Hi there. How important do you reckon it is to use rolled (vs porridge) oats and dessicated (vs flaked) coconut? Because I gave it a whirl using what I had in my store cupboard … and when I warmed it on the stove, not only did it most definitely not foam, when I added it to my coffee I got the same separated cloudy mess I get with all my other homemade milks. Help!

Hi Dana,
I have just tried this recipe and it tastes amazing. I added more water to make if more milk but, I think that I will try it creamy as it is when using for coffee or tea. Well I love all your recipes and I am so glad that I found your website. I have bought one of your cook books but, every time I cook I use the online recipes.

Yes! This recipe is spot-on!
I’m a barista and at work, we’ve been trying to develop a recipe for home-made vegan milk that we could use at the store and try to cut the tetrapak waste a little. The oat milk recipes we’ve tried so far have been dissaponting.
This blend of milk is very promising. It steams beautifully (the sound is going to be screechy and scary at first, but you can build microfoam. Also I recommend sitting the milk for half a minute before using it. Try tapping the jug on the counter to make the giant bubbles disappear). We’ll probably tweak a few elements to suit our taste but overall, great recipe!

Great flavor and definitely thick! I made it without the date to be able to sweeten beverages as I go. It frothed up well with my little electric frother but I did notice it seemed to separate? Like the thickest part of it ended up at the bottom of my tea. Any thoughts on how to prevent this? Thanks for a great recipe!

Sounds delicious!
Any ideas for what the resulting pulp could be used for? Maybe cookies, truffles or something? It would be great to be able to add it to something to cut down on waste. Any suggestions welcome! :)

I am desperate for a plant milk to have in very strong Yorkshire tea. I am missing my tea since I went plant based. I will try your recipe tomorrow and thank you. But please can you make something that is ok for tea?

Hi Dana, Thank you for another amazing vegan recipe. I am definitely going to try it. I have one question, my homemade dairy free milks tend to separate in hot tea, regardless of whether I heat the milk first. How does this milk fare? Thank you again! 🌺 Big hug from South Africa.

Hi! Looking forward to try this one as always! You say you don’t want to drink oil, yet this recipe contains three times more fat than Oatly’s barista milk. Do you make a difference and why to added rapeseed oil compared to the oil the cashews naturally contain? Just curios. Thank you